Page 49 of Broken Headboards

Taylor rolls his eyes and downs his tequila. “Fuck you,” he says and grimaces when the tequila singes his throat.

He shimmies his shoulders, letting the agave warm and relax his muscles. Then he swings his head in my direction.

“Why are you asking that Austin? Who has you fucking enamored?” he asks.

I swallow a large gulp of my drink and put my elbows on my knees, gearing myself up to tell them the truth. And to admit it to myself.

“It’s Tess,” I confess.

They all collectively drop their jaws in awe.

“Are you fucking serious?” Taylor shouts, not holding back his reaction in the slightest.

“Woah dude,” Dominic adds.

“Wow,” Colt and Malcolm say at the same time.

“Fuck. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” I say in defense, running my hands over my face.

“What? It’s not a big deal?” Taylor punches my shoulder. “This is the wrong fucking time to fall in love when the competition is so close. Let alone fall in lovewithyour fucking competition. She’s the one beating you, by the way, did you forget about that already?”

The other guys look between Taylor and I, and they fall silent, sipping their drinks nonchalantly.

Smooth, guys. Really fucking smooth.

“Dude, you never know when love is going to bite you in ass. It’s an unexpected thing,” Colt says, standing up for me.

“Jesus, fuck me,” I sigh and fall back onto the booth.

And like fucking clock work, two women, one with a short bob and a dainty brunette, climb into our booth, eyeing us like they’ve won the jackpot.

I understand their intrigue, but seriously? Why the fuck now?

“Hey guys. What brings you out to Aspen tonight?” The blonde curls her tongue around the small red straw in her drink.

“Boys night,” I tip my drink up towards her. “And you?”

Maybe, she’ll be able to distract from making a bigger ass out of myself. I know the waitress didn’t do it for me, but this girl looks like she has the potential to steer me away.

We’ll see.

She takes my question as an invitation to sit next to me.

“Me too,” she bats her eyes and giggles, too enthusiastically. “Well, girls’ night.”

Ok, baby. It’s notthatfunny.

The brunette seats herself next to Taylor, who seems to enjoy the attention, though he refrains from brushing up against her. He might not admit it yet but he’s just as into Ashley as I am into Tess. He’s just too big of a fucking coward to admit it.

“What’s your name?” I ask, loosening the noose of awkward silence around my neck.

“Jane Doe,” she announces as her tongue does that twirl thing again.

I choke on my drink—did she just say Jane Doe? I eye her up and down, hoping she’s joking.

“Jane Doe?” I ask for clarification.

She bobs her head up and down, beaming with pride.